{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-klobuchar-and-colleagues-urge-state-department-to-prioritize-policies-to-support-intercountry-adoption-in-search-for-new-accrediting-entities", "Blunt, Klobuchar and Colleagues Urge State Department to Prioritize Policies to Support Intercountry Adoption in Search for New Accrediting Entities", "2020-10-29", "2020", "2020-10", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and\r\nAmy Klobuchar (Minn.), co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption,\r\nalong with U.S. Senators Richard Burr (N.C.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), James\r\nInhofe (Okla.), James Lankford (Okla.), Mike Lee (Utah), and Roger Wicker\r\n(Miss.), sent a letter urging the State Department to prioritize policies to\r\npromote intercountry adoption as the department searches for new accrediting\r\nentities for intercountry adoption service providers.  We urge the Department to use this search as an opportunity\r\nto recommit to one of the purposes of the Intercountry Adoption Act, to improve\r\nthe ability of the Federal Government to assist' families seeking to adopt\r\nchildren from other countries, the senators wrote. Since the designation of\r\nthe first accrediting entities in 2006, it has become clear that the\r\nintercountry adoption process can be influenced as much by the policies and\r\nprocedures of an accrediting entity as the laws or regulations that govern\r\nintercountry adoption. The selection of a new accrediting entity or\r\nentitieswith the right priorities in mindcan play an important role in\r\nensuring that the federal government will facilitate rather than encumber the\r\nability of a child in need to have a family willing to provide a stable and\r\nloving home. In the letter, the senators ask the State Department to look\r\nspecifically at the fee schedule for accrediting entities to ensure they do not\r\nimpose undue financial burdens on families seeking to adopt internationally,\r\nespecially low-income families, families seeking to adopt sibling groups, or\r\nfamilies seeking to adopt children with disabilities.  The senators also ask the State Department to provide\r\nadditional information regarding changes to the Substantial Compliance System,\r\nciting feedback they have received from intercountry adoption stakeholders that\r\nthe updates increase demand for compliance in some existing measures without\r\nincreasing flexibility in others.  Read the full text of the letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-klobuchar-and-colleagues-urge-state-department-to-prioritize-policies-to-support-intercountry-adoption-in-search-for-new-accrediting-entities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6040359623730183, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}